add recording
please note: before sending anything, read the posting rules!
choose the desired location by clicking on the map. it opens a popup with a link to the
upload window. the position and viewport/ zoom level of the map will be preserved.
click
add a new location. you will be asked for a place and recording title,
your email address, a short description and the recording date and time. select a licence
under which the recording should be published, or choose PUBLIC DOMAIN. beware: you can't
revoke or change a licence later, so choose it carefully.
if you choose to upload a sound, there's a browse button for choosing files from your hard drive.
if you want to fetch an already published recording from your website, give the full url to the
file in the corresponding form field, see below for details.
- address, placename, title should be a short term describing the location.
the website suggests a title or address based on the geographic location, change that
as you like, but please keep it short and significant. this label shows up in
navigation bars, search results etc.
- title of recording should be a short term describing this recording, since there
can be more than one recording at the same location.
- recording date & time is self-explanatory, the date and time when you've made
the recording. if you don't know the exact date/time, make a reasonable guess.
- licence is one of 6 creative commons licences, and public domain.
if you're not sure which licence to choose, read about it at the
Creative Commons website.
you can't revoke or change a licence later, so choose it carefully.
- description should be whatever you think is important to know about your
recording, place or circumstances. tell us what you've experienced there, what's
special about this place, what gear you're using, the weather conditions, and so on.
the search engine utilizes this info, along with titles and addresses, so please take a
second a provide some descriptive words.
- choose file: for file uploads, the browse button opens a window to
your hard drive. here you can select the soundfile to send to radio aporee. files can
be mp3 or wav, see specs below.
- download sound from URL: if your recording is already online somewhere, you
can fetch it from there. please give the full URL to the sound, including http(s):// at the
beginning, e.g. https://www.yoursite.com/yoursound.mp3. fetching sounds from existing URLs
is usually pretty quick.
if your files are at soundcloud.com
and if you've enabled downloads, you can fetch it from there too. since soundcloud doesn't
provide direct links to a sound, please give the URL for your specific soundcloud page,
e.g. https://soundcloud.com/my-favourite-fieldrecording/. radio aporee takes care of
the rest, hopefully... if things don't work the first time, try again. this feature relies
on proper behaviour of the remote site. double check if you've download enabled.
see also specs below.
- file specs:
- files must be wav or mp3 (flac in evaluation)
- sample rate must be 44.1 - 96,0khz
- mp3 bitrates must be 256 - 320 kbit/s CBR or > 220kbit/s VBR
- wav resolution must be 16 or 24bit
- min. length of recording is 1 minute!
- wav files will be converted to mp3 320kbit/s
- max. file size is 250 mbyte
- all other formats will be rejected. see also tech tips below.
- send starts uploading to radio aporee, progress is displayed at the lower
left corner. all necessary information to activate your sound, in order to make it
audible / visible on the map, will be send to your email address, as well as some
instructions how to access the editor. it obviously makes no sense to enter an invalid
email address here... in case you don't receive any emails, check your spam folder too!
if something goes wrong, you should get an error message
explaining the problem briefly, watch the status bar below the map for notifications.
almost all known problems are related to wrong file formats and specs, or interrupted
uploads by premature reloads. if you cannot resolve the problem yourself, drop an
email.
please be patient while uploading, don't hit reload or back on your browser until
the site has returned. depending on your connection, this may take a while. you can
continue using the map while uploading, but don't start another upload, it will cancel
the one in progress otherwise.
- if you want to add a sound to an existing place, just click the red marker
(or more details... at the lower right corner), which opens the infowindow for
this sound. choose add recording, then proceed as described above. if there's more
than one sound at a place, they will be played consecutively in chronological order.
some use this feature for examining the soundscape of a specific location over time,
for personal sound diaries etc. it is also interesting to see how different persons
approach the same place, sound-wise. so, if you take recordings at a location where
someone else has recorded before, consider to add yours to the existing one! btw, the
map becomes nasty when you try to add a new location very close to an existing one...
- there are some other options available in the infowindow for a sound.
share & embed lets you include a little map of this place on your blog or website,
the envelope icon mail_outline opens a comment form
which sends an email directly to the contributor of this sound. if you expect a answer,
provide your email address. it's only used for sending and won't be saved permanently.
click the yellow star in front
of the recording title, to add this location to the list of favourite sounds, selected
by listeners. frameworkradio
frequently selects some favourites for its weekly worldwide radio show. and of course favourites
are accessible from the main menu too. further there are two options to download a recording, click
file_download for downloading the mp3-file directly from the
aporee server, or cloud_download if you want to access more
download options at archive.org, e.g. the original uncompressed version, if available, or some
derivates. (see also the archive.org-section below).
help_outline links to a page with very detailed technical information
about this recording, along with a spectrogram and waveform of the audio file.
edit your recordings
you don't need a login or account in order to participate in the project. however, after uploading
your first sound, you have access to an editor for your contributions. there you can edit titles,
locations, descriptions and other info. it also provides a possibility to create your own projects
maps. that's the radio aporee ::: maps with only your selected recordings, under a dedicated
URL. see also
project maps below. there are links in any of the confirmation
emails you receive after uploading, about how to get/set a password and access the editor.
there you can also set your name, which then will be shown instead of the (shortened) email address.
recommended!
play modes
when the map loads initially, it jumps to the most recent recording and plays it. the currently
playing sound is indicated by a blinking red marker. click it to get more information about
this sound.
play on the menue bar has several options for playing e.g. random selections, the
radio aporee ::: stream or the currently visible sounds on the map. playlist always
displays the currently loaded list of sounds. geo-mixing mode lets you play different
places around the world simultaneously in up to 5 channels. playtime, give it a try...
note: these functions may put some load on our computer, esp. if it's an older one. things
may become slow or hang.
share your sounds
the tools section on the menu bar has some options for sharing sounds with others
and embedding links and selected maps on external websites, blogs etc. share map
creates copy&paste html code for he currently visible map area.
with map selection it's possible to select an arbitrary part of the visible map for
embedding. after activation, press <shift> and drag/select the desired area on the map.
for a specific location, use the share & embed function in the details infowindow
(e.g. opened when you click the blinking red marker, or the more details... link in
the sound info bar at the bottom). a word about social media: there are no plans yet to
include share buttons etc. into this site. if there ar solutions for unobtrusive and non-tracking
options, that may change.
about content
tl;dr - make field recordings of decent quality!
there are some rules, please consider them before posting anything, otherwise don't
expect your recording to survive. the following aspects will be handled rather strict...
this project is about sounds from places; time and origin of place are important,
also the quality of the recording. the sounds we want to hear are field recordings,
soundscape recordings, sounds from actual sites and situations, including their surrounding ambiences.
listen to some of the recordings to get an idea. that said,
- take care about sound quality, do not send mobile phone or camera recordings,
whatsapp messages etc., see tips below.
- do not send your favourite music, songs, promotion or advertising, your greatest hits collection,
recordings of concerts etc.
- avoid extensive chunks of music (eg. from radio, TV, concerts etc.) in your recordings
- don't send sound mixes, compilations, edited/cut audio, compositions or soundart creations
- do not upload AI generated / manipulated sound recordings
- don't mess with time and location, origin of place, its ambience and the passing of time are important
- no clips, sound effects, recordings of only a few seconds length etc., 1 min. required at least
- for commentary, interviews, spoken words etc., please record it on-site and do not
add sounds or edit material in post production
- if you plan a workshop, e.g. with kids or students, and want to use the soundmap, let us know
about it in advance and show them how to use a recorder and microphone properly!
we are not particularly tolerant of lazy teachers and unmotivated students, but we welcome
everyone with interest and dedication to sound, field recording and the environment. see tech tips
below for help and info how to start making good recordings.
- if you send sounds from others, implicitly ask for permission first and give proper credits.
- take care about privacy, e.g. don't record private conversations etc. without permission
think about
phonography,
get a recorder and good microphones, listen to the sounds of your surroundings, record & share
them with others here on radio aporee ::: maps. maintain a sense of place! the project relies on
your contributions, please be conscious and responsible.
in case of doubt, send an email and ask
before you send something.
spam, tests,
jokes and trash audio will be deleted without comment, as well as obviously copyright
protected or illegal material. sounds odd, but even if you sing a popular song by yourself,
it may be under ©opyright in some countries and cause us trouble.
if you find illegal or copyright-protected material on radio aporee ::: maps, please send an
email! see address below.
your recordings will be published under the
Creative Commons License you've choosen during uploading (which implies that that you
own the right to publish it under this licence...). again:
you can't revoke or change a
licence later, so choose it carefully.
if you don't agree to these rules and objectives, please don't send
your recording.
tech & tips
- read the the quiet american's
DIY notes on field recording, or
lmgtfy... or try
this short but useful guide
- use a decent recorder / microphones, mobile phones etc. are not suitable,
unless you connect a good microphone
- become familiar with your recorder and basic concepts of recording.
- record in stereo, 24bit resolution, at 44.1, 48 or 96kHz, uncompressed.
- be careful with levels and gain. clipping ruins your recording and tortures
listeners. don't record TOO LOUD!
- don't use auto-gain to avoid "pumping" volumes
- use windscreens, windjammers, fake fur, deat kittens or even your socks for wind protection!
- if you hold the microphone or recorder in your hand, try a soft fabric,
scarf etc. to minimize handling noise
- be patient, listen carefully, try to change perspective. make longer recordings
rather then short snippets, 1 min. at least!
- if you want to edit your recordings (e.g. fade in/out, adjust levels),
try audacity
- for mp3-encoding, we recommend the LAME encoder,
which can be integrated into audacity.
use joint stereo mode and high bitrates (256 or 320kbit/s) for best audio quality.
- alternatively, upload WAV-files, the server converts it to mp3 and also keeps the original.
- tip: make file names descriptive, e.g.: berlinAlexanderplatzFountain-31-12-2017.wav
- keep the original WAV on your harddrive, you never know...
- ...
project maps
each contributor to this project can create personal or project soundmaps. this function is
available in the edit section,
see above. a project map is a selection
of the global aporee soundmap, accessible under a dedicated URL. to get an idea, check the
currently available projects. authors of
a project map may decide to open it up for contributions from others, so that one can directly
upload to a specific project. however, sounds
always will be visible on the radio
aporee ::: maps too. please respect the content rules, see
about content above.
collaboration with archive.org
radio aporee has its own
collection
on IA, the Internet Archive at archive.org (
read more).
all recordings are synchronized to IA daily. this could be helpful for digital survival
in case of a catastrophy. but it's also useful for uploading uncompressed sound formats to
aporee. there may be not enough space on aporee for loads of WAVs in future, so the idea is to
only store it temporarily until it has arrived on archive.org. a high quality 320kbit/s mp3
copy remains on aporee. other formats like ogg and flac are created automatically on the IA
servers. if you delete sounds or update the metadata for a location, these changes will be
incorporated into the archive.org item on the next synchronisation run, usually around noon
GMT+1 / CET / CEST .
please note: all recordings are synchronized by the
radio aporee account to archive.org, however with
the contributors name as the artist / author of the recording. this means that you cannot
access this information directly from your personal archive.org account. if you want to change information of a
particular recording, please use the editor of the aporee ::: maps, all changes will be synchronized to
archive.org on the next run.
the radio of radio aporee
radio aporee continuously plays recordings from its archive. however, it's a
responsive stream of sound, a topographic radio that
listens,
that is able to recognise and react to events, e.g. new sound uploads, listeners
tuning in, mobile app activity, live sessions, phone calls etc. it's an ongoing
experiment and exploration of affective geographies and new practices related to
sound art and radio.
go listen!
APIs, usage, etc.
there is no public
API
so far. agreed that it would be nice to have one.
if you have a project which wants to use sounds of the radio aporee ::: maps,
please let us know in advance and provide details. it's possible
to establish access to datasets from the aporee database for selected projects via
private interfaces.
please use the website as it is suggested and intended by its public interface.
do not mess around with scripts for mass-downloading etc. this is annoying and
causes us costs and trouble...
privacy
your email address is the only personal information needed in order to contribute to the radio
aporee ::: maps project. it's used for the confirmation of sound uploads and related actions,
and for the daily news about new contributions, which you can opt-out at any time of course.
please note: your (truncated) email address will be displayed along with some other information related
to your contribution in the corresponding info box on the map, as well as in the status line for
the currently selected sound. if you don't want this, please log in and set a name in your
personal settings. once in a while you may get an email about interesting activities going on
at radio aporee or related sites. further, the site sets two cookies:
- aporee_maps_lang: contains your prefered language settings, en (english) or de (deutsch) for now
- aporee_session: a random string pointing to a session on aporee, used e.g. for auto-filling fields in the upload form
it's fine if you disable cookies, the map will work without them, but maybe editing will not.
that's all, we don't mess around with your data.
please also check our privacy policy for further information!
